Okay, I'll apologize for a very long (like forever, I'm sorry i know) abscence with three chapters! Thanks for all the reviews and followers while I was gone! Love you guys
Allison crouched, back pressed against a large rock, crossbow in hand and readied. She mentally double checked her gear: quiver of bolts on her left hip, hunting knife on her right, stiletto knife in her boot, two throwing knifes on her lower back, choking wire in a pouch on her belt, handgun under her left arm, extra ammo in more pouches on her belt. Her black fitted pants and sweatshirt had Kevlar threads running through them and would protect her from minor scratches and deflect most knives. She wore a light weight bulletproof vest under her sweat shirt to protect her from anything worse than a knife, although she knew it would be useless against a werewolf's claws if then had a rival pack about.
She looked about calmly, she was trained for this; some of the others weren't. Danny looked calm but she could tell by his rapid breathing and darting eyes that he was freaked out. She was dressed like her: black pants, black boots, and a black hoodie over a bulletproof vest. He had a rifle in his hand, a knife strapped to one hip, and a handgun strapped to the other. She knew that he had a knife in his boot and some tech in his pouches; she had been the one to outfit him and the other non-wolves when their training had started. The pack had begun calling it their Wolf Pajamas, but everyone knew that they outfits were necessary with the life they lived. None of them were stupid enough to not bring their full outfits on the vacation; they all knew their luck.
Boyd's eyes were wide and shining dull amber in the pitch black around them she noticed. He wasn't dressed like Allison and Danny, he didn't need the weapons or armor to protect himself; he had a full set of ten razor sharp claws, wolf healing, and super strength. To some extent she was jealous of the wolves and their abilities, how they could so easily recover from most injuries, how they could run for hours without being winded, how they could lift a small car with ease. She knew that there was a price for it, and she wondered if the price was worth the risk. After mom had been turned, she had considered asking Derek for the bite, but decided to wait and observe the wolves more before making a choice. She knew that it was a possibility that she would get the bite anyway if she was hurt bad enough. Scott wouldn't let her die, and she knew that Derek would turn her. She almost hoped it would happen that way so she didn't have to worry about it.
Allison shook her head and brought her mind back to the present, they had a job to do, and she planned on living up to Derek's high expectations. Derek, who looked at every shadow checking for danger to his pack. Derek, who had his nose to the wind to pick up the scent of the man they were following. Derek, who's eyes flashed a deep crimson in the night, somehow both demonic and comforting. Derek, who had chosen Allison to come on this trip because he trusted her abilities and that she would do anything she could to protect the pack. She was surprised but glad he had chosen her and didn't want to let him down.
"He mentioned you having an Alpha?" Derek asked, his voice unusually low and calm.
Danny had expected this to be a way louder conversation and for them to pack and leave, not to gather and talk about the situation. "Yeah, he said to tell you hello. And he mentioned the Full Moon and gave me that necklace and the cuff."
Danny had already explained everything twice but he knew that Derek just wanted the details. He was sitting on the couch of the Boy's Condo, Matt firmly holding one hand, Jacks sitting closely on the other side as the rest of the pack gathered around them.
Lydia had the necklace in her hand and was looking it over with an appraising eye. "I know jewelry and precious stones, but I have no idea what kind of stone this moon is made out of." Lydia did not like to admit to not knowing anything, so Danny knew that if she was that the situation was serious. "It's been polished, but I'm assuming it was porous at one point, and based on the striations I would say it's organic rather than a gem."
"It's coral I think," Jackson said much to the surprise of everyone. He shrugged at their strange looks. "My mom bought some really expensive jewelry like that the last time we were in the Bahamas."
Lydia gave her boyfriend a flash of a smile and then went back to looking over the jewelry. "That could make sense, it's light enough in weight and there are some coral deposits off the coast, although I'm fairly certain it's illegal to dive for it."
"Well, it's it coral it's probably a charm of some kind," Stiles said with a sign and grabbed one of the books he had borrowed from Dr. Deaton. "We have really covered this in my lessons with the Doc but there are ways to use coral as a carrier. It can basically take on the attributes of other herbs and substances."
"Um, doesn't that mean that we should like get rid of it?" Scott asked looking as confused as ever from where he sat in front of Allison.
"I don't know," Stiles shrugged. "But, we've seen that Lydia is pretty much immune to most things magical, even stuff like the Kanima toxin which affected everyone. I need to call Deaton, but I should be able to enclose or dampen the affects the charm may have with what I have here."
He and Lydia shared a look and huddled over a book both pouring over the pages.
Derek, who had until now been looking out the window at setting sun over the beach, turned to face the group. "I need to see this man. Danny can you lead me to him?"
Danny nodded.
"Okay, tonight we'll go in to town to find him. Jack, Melissa, I want you to stay here with the pack, call Chris and tell him whats up, but tell him to stay put for the time being."
"I'm going to go call the Doc," Stiles said as he and Lydia stood. "We need to figure this out, and I'm useless out there."
"Good, Stiles use Lydia and Matt for whatever research you need." Derek sighed and looked at Scott and then Jackson. "Scott, Jackson: you two are staying here with the others. I need you to keep them safe."
"Fine by me," Jackson said.
"You should take backup," Scott insisted.
"I am, Allison and Boyd are coming with me as well as Danny," Derek said looking at the two he mentioned. Danny knew that wasn't going to go over well with Scott. He had expected Derek to take Boyd, who had become his first choice in these small missions. Boyd was strong, smart, obedient when necessary and questioning when needed, he was also surprisingly stealthy for his size, something Danny was a little jealous of. Allison wasn't an odd choice, she was trained at this and was a fighter, but Danny had assumed he would want more wolves.
"What! No you aren't taking Allison."
"Scott, I can take care of myself you know," the girl said with a smile and then kissed his check. "I'll be fine, plus he might need a human who can take care of themselves, no offense Danny." The Hawaiian teen just shrugged.
"But…" Scott practically whimpered.
"Scott, I am trusted you to watch the pack and my mate, you can trust me with yours," Derek said. Danny was surprised that the older man hadn't snapped at them without explanation. But he had gotten better about that since he had started dating Stiles. I guess you had to talk more around Stiles since he never quit talking.
"…Derek, bring her home," was all Scott said after a few moments of eye contact with his Alpha. The older man nodded in return.
After a few stolen moments with Scott and Matt, Allison and Danny made their way to the other condo. Without talking they each went to fetch their Wolf Pajama's and gear. Matt had almost convinced him not to bring it, but in the end Danny had packed both of their gear in a separate bag and left it sitting in the corner of their shared room. He was glad he had brought it now. It only took a few moments for him to changed, and in those minutes the sun had sank below the horizon, leaving only a pink glow over the sea. He double checked his weapons, the small camera and tablet computer he carried, plus a few connection cables he may need. He doubted that they would need the tech but since that was his thing he wanted to be prepared.
Allison double checked his gear once he was done, and after giving him a nod finished pulling her hair back into a tight braid. That was one thing he admired about Allison, she could go from laughing and looking like a Disney Princess to all business and bows in a matter of seconds. She was tough but never allowed herself to become hard to the world or cold; her strength didn't override her genuinely kind and loving personality. He watched her as they walked back to the other condo, waiting with Boyd in the living room for Derek to finish…well to finish doing whatever Derek did. Allison had shifted into her hunter personality, all business, totally serious about the mission. Most of the other chose moments like this to tell a joke or to try and break the tension, Allison wasn't like that. She used the tension to keep aware. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, he and Boyd were the same way. Probably another reason Derek had picked the three of them.
Derek appeared at the back door just as the last traces of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, leaving the world cast in a strange gray light. "Let's go."
After months with the Pack Boyd was still not used to being around people like he was now. He wasn't used to the connections, the friendship, the trust. He had taken Derek's offer so that he wouldn't be alone anymore, but the Pack was noisy and frustrating and something he desperately wanted but didn't know how to handle. He was ok with the fighting and the scheming and the planning, hell he could even get behind the occasional dead rabbit he found after a particular wolfie run. He would have been fine if it was just him dealing with all of this, but he didn't want people relying on him.
Which is exactly what was going on tonight. He had been put in charge of making sure that Allison and Danny had the protection they needed if things turned out poorly. Sure Danny was strong and Allison was trained, but they had no idea what they were up against tonight. It would be more witches, or hunters, or even a rival pack, although they probably would have been able to smell the other wolves around town if it was another pack.
They had made their way into town along the beach, moving from shadow to shadow until Danny could identify the man to the others. He had been closing up shop as the lights came on around town, giving them enough illumination to easily see the man, but to remain hidden in the shadows on the roof of a local restaurant. The man seemed normal enough, and Boyd couldn't smell anything new. The entire town smelled like the sea and slightly of fish, but nothing about the man stood out. He didn't have the earthy, woodsy smell of a wolf, the overly sweet scent of a witch, or the strange non-smell that a Kanima carried, even from a distance Boyd could tell that.
They followed him outside of town, taking turns tailing him so that he didn't get too suspicious. Danny and Allison both would have stood out in their gear, but they stayed to the shadows and let Boyd or Derek take the better lit areas. The man was heading towards the beach, a bag of trinkets heavy on his shoulder, but he was taking his time, talking to locals and tourists alike as he made his way through the town. Everyone seemed to know the man, from other older men and women, to a few young families who were out for dinner, even the kids and other teenagers he met along the way seemed to acknowledge and respect him.
As the man finally made his way out of the tourist part of town he didn't head towards the sparsely lit but heavily scented neighborhoods that housed the other locals or towards the seaside condos and bed & breakfasts filled with tourists on summer vacation. Instead he made his way towards a rocky cove that was concealed from view. If it hadn't been for Boyd's wolf vision he would have missed the man slip through the gap between two rocks. Even with Boyd's advanced senses, and Derek's for what it was worth, it was hard to follow the man as he got close to the sea.
Boyd and Danny followed Derek and Allison up a small cliff face where they could see the cove. Lying down on their stomachs they inched towards the edge and peered over at the old man. Strangely he was undressing and hiding his clothes in some kind of creak in the wall. After removing all his clothes, which completely icked out Boyd and the other pack members, the man grabbed his bag of trinkets and walked straight into the sea. Once he was thankfully covered up to his waist he looked up at the sky and stretched his arms above his head. Boyd heard a gasp fall out of Danny's mouth at what happened next, and he didn't blame his packmate.
The man's arms started to change, a shimmer ran down them as scales formed along the back of his arms and webbing grew between his fingers which had elongated by a few inches. As a matter of fact, the man seemed to stretch, going from around 5'9 to 6'8 in a few moments, his body thinning out as he did. The man's hair took on a greenish tint, as did the scales and small fin that grew out of his mid back. As he finished his stretch he jumped out of the water and dove forward. His legs had grown long like his arms and his feet now resembled flippers; extended, webbed, and covered in scales. He soon disappeared into the water.
"Um, was that what I think it is?" Danny asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah…and shit" Derek said with a low growl. "I fucking hate Mermaids."